Home means more than basketball for the Ingles

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Australian Boomers legend Joe Ingles’ move to Melbourne United after more than a decade in the NBA is so much bigger than basketball, his wife, Renae, has shared on Instagram.

Ingles’ NBA career ended when the Timberwolves were eliminated from the 2026 playoffs, but his “forever” has stretched another two years after Melbourne United revealed three days later the soon-to-be 39-year-old had signed a two-year deal with the NBL club.

“Coming home to Melbourne feels incredibly special,” Ingles said.

“To return to where my professional career began almost 20 years ago is something I don’t take for granted. So much has happened since then, but Melbourne has always felt like home.

“We’re really excited to reconnect with the community here, and to be closer to family and friends again. After so many years overseas, that part means a lot to us.”

Former Australian Diamonds netballer Renae posted an emotional video describing the life-changing decision of the family’s move back to Australia after more than a decade in the United States.

She wrote: “The last few months have been a rollercoaster of emotions. Excited. Grateful. Heartbroken. Hopeful.

“Two things can be true at once. You can deeply love the life you’ve built and still know it’s time to go home. You can be ready for what’s next while grieving what you’re leaving behind.

“This chapter gave us more than we ever imagined, and saying goodbye is harder than I can put into words.

“The end of an era. The beginning of a new chapter.”

In the video post, Renae said: “One of the most difficult and exhausting processes to go through.

“I am exhausted; there has truly not been a single thing that hasn't been considered when it comes to thinking about this move home for us as a family to … bite the bullet and come home and make that the best decision that we've ever made.

“My phone is going up today; this is just the most stressful process, piece of this entire puzzle is the kids' well-being.”

Renae shares the moment their three kids were accepted into Australian schools, the first time they will experience a different education system.

“I've just got the emails to say that they were all accepted,” she said.

“I think this is happening, this is happening. (The) kids have never been in the Australian school system.

“I’m receiving just the most lovely text from people, you have to leave here, really hard to leave, you know you're doing the right thing, but and a lifestyle that I'm really gonna miss.”

In one of the most heartwarming moments of the 2024-25 season, Ingles started for the Minnesota Timberwolves as his son, Jacob, watched live for the first time.

Joe and Renae’s son Jacob, who has autism, had yet to see a full NBA game live. He watched the Timberwolves play the Utah Jazz, Ingles’ former team, days earlier, and managed to sit through a full game; the only problem was his dad didn't play.

But in a moment the Ingles family will remember forever, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch decided to insert the Boomers legend into the starting lineup so his son could see him play an NBA game for the first time. In six minutes, Ingles dished out one assist as Minnesota destroyed the New Orleans Pelicans 134-93.

Finch said it was an emotional moment in his post-game press conference and that "sometimes you have to do the human thing".

"We always talk about all these minutes matter and those minutes (Ingles played) mattered for another reason," Finch said.

"Someone put it in my head today as an idea to make sure that Joe could see the floor and I figured, if we're going to do it, do it in style."